It's official: Drinking alcohol is now legal in 27 Toronto parks
CBC
As of today, you can now legally enjoy an alcoholic beverage or two at some Toronto parks.
Whether or not to allow drinking in all city parks has been an ongoing debate at city council for years. But earlier this year, a new approach was proposed – a pilot program to allow alcohol in certain parks from Aug. 2 to Oct. 9.
"It's a great initiative," said Coun. Chris Moise, one of the city councillors who proposed the pilot. "We've had pilot projects across the country, you know, in Montreal, in Calgary, Edmonton, and even Vancouver as well, and those pilots went very well. I anticipate that they will go well here in Toronto."
The pilot was approved by city council on July 19 and allows people aged 19 and older to drink alcohol in 27 city-owned parks. City councillors chose whether or not to opt into the program for their wards and chose which parks to include.
Drinking alcohol is not allowed within two metres of playgrounds and wading pools.
Desipte the pilot, many parkgoers told CBC Toronto they've long observed people drinking in parks such as Trinity Bellwoods, and say the prospect doesn't bother them.
"I lived down the road for a number of years," said Belinda Barratt who was visiting the Trinity Bellwoods with family on Tuesday. "People are clearly drinking. They're not particularly rowdy, they're not abusive, they just seem to be having a good time. I don't honestly think it's going to make any difference."
Jade Verdon, who was also visiting the park Tuesday, agrees.
"I don't know how much it would change," she said. "Maybe it will make people feel a little less stressed, a little less anxious."
But Kurt Behrendt, who lives on a street near Trinity Bellwoods, said he has concerns.
"To encourage people to come to our park, for all of us who live around here, it's terrible," he said. "It's going to mean that people feel this sort of freedom to misbehave."
Behrendt said he witnessed a lot of drinking and bad behaviour in and around the park during the height of COVID-19 lockdowns, including people urinating in resident's yards.
In a statement provided to CBC Toronto, the city said "The pilot locations were selected based on a number of criteria including washroom (whether permanent or portable) and drinking water access."
The city also said that additional garbage bins will be added to participating parks on an as needed basis.
Premier Wab Kinew says Manitoba will hold a public inquiry as soon as 2026 into the former Progressive Conservative government’s post-election efforts to approve an environmental licence for sand-mining company Sio Silica.
Premier Scott Moe has led the Saskatchewan Party through two straight elections, winning majority governments each time.
Eight weeks after adding a GM BrightDrop van to the fleet of his plumbing and heating business, Marty Salliss has no complaints, only praise.
Nearly half of Alberta’s Grade 6 students failed the provincewide math test in 2024, three years after the province started rolling out its new elementary school curriculum.
Toronto could get new cars on the road whose drivers will never get frustrated by gridlock — because the cars would be driving themselves.
Amidst a cost-of-living crisis, some London-area organizations say they have noticed a decline in donations this holiday season.
Prominent northern leaders have been touting the Arctic economic and security corridor as a "nation-building" project that will bring economic benefits to the two territories it straddles, but others are split on how much good will come out of it.
When the federal government tabled its 2025 budget last month, it included a proposal that tax fraud experts say is long overdue — if also a belated acknowledgement that the Canada Revenue Agency has been repeatedly duped into paying out untold millions in bogus tax refunds to scammers.
Talking with an AI chatbot can successfully convince people to change their votes and could affect the outcome of future elections, according to a new study.
While some are writing wishlists for Santa Claus, a group of Newfoundland and Labrador youth are writing their wishlist for the provincial government.
A horse owner near Stewiacke, N.S., says the current shortage of hay in the province is putting pressure on her financially.
Victoria Volkanova was remembering Jewish resilience and courage by celebrating Hanukkah on Sunday.
Winnipeggers are still digging out from this past week’s winter wallop, but the wait for roadside assistance is almost over, according to the provincial motoring association.